


After the Storm

by talesofsymphoniac



Category: Tales of Series, Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Canon - Anime, F/F, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Missing Scene, Pre-Femslash, Pre-Slash, Rosali Week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 05:51:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9979241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesofsymphoniac/pseuds/talesofsymphoniac
Summary: "'Wakey, wakey, Sleeping Beauty,' she said casually, as if she hadn’t been sitting here for hours waiting for the princess to rise."Or, the Rose/Alisha scene we deserved in the season 1 finale.Written for Day Two of Rosali Week 2017: Your smile is forever in my mind.





	

Rose shut her eyes, listening to the chaos outside: the clanking of soldiers rushing about, orders being called, the whinnies and footsteps of warhorses. The leader of the Sparrowfeathers and the Scattered Bones should have been in the midst of that chaos, or in the background of it, calling the shots and letting her followers know how they would proceed.

Instead, she was sitting on the hard ground of the inside of the princess’ tent. Waiting. Not an unusual part of her job, but one she never enjoyed during the moment. The thrill of outsmarting an opponent, of finding them vulnerable and cornered, of catching her suspect in the act: those were what she loved. The patience and the waiting were the dull parts, the parts that she forced herself through for the sake of the mission.

Rose was more of a woman of action.

So she was in a much better mood when the lump in front of her began to make rustling sounds, and then quiet little groans. Rose suppressed a smile, eyes opening, because this was what she had gone through all that waiting for.

“Wakey, wakey, Sleeping Beauty,” she said casually, as if she hadn’t been sitting here for hours waiting for the princess to rise.

The princess in question wasn’t much for conversation yet. She struggled even to move, each rustle of her body an experiment, and one that seemed to cause her great pain.

“What…”

The word was weak, barely intelligible, and not really a question so much much as an exclamation, a test of voice along with body. For a few more minutes, Rose watched as Alisha struggled, small groans and sighs of pain escaping her lips as she moved her arms and hands incrementally up her body, taking in the bandages over her middle and moving up to the pallid skin of her face.

Rose watched, not bored and impatient as she had been while Alisha slept, but intrigued, like the princess was a particularly fascinating specimen. Alisha planted her elbows into the ground and began attempting to push herself up, her face contorted like it was agony. Rose let her, a tiny smile pulling at the corner of one of her lips.

The smile vanished as Alisha let out her most anguished groan yet and collapsed, flopping back onto her mat front-first, breathing heavily and letting out more noises of frustration.

Rose’s eyes narrowed, but her tone remained nonchalant. “Yeah, I wouldn’t try to sit up for a while. You were stabbed pretty good.”

An obvious comment, but it seemed to give Alisha something else to focus on, her eyes far away and her lips making little movements like she was about to speak, but wasn’t sure what to say.

“The battle…” Alisha turned her pale green eyes directly on Rose, the words unsure, almost hesitant, like she wasn’t sure she was remembering correctly.

Rose offered her a nod. “Stopped, for now.”

At her words, the uncertainty in Alisha’s expression vanished, her eyes hardening. “What are the casualties? What’s happening now? Where are Lady Maltran and the others?” Her questions were rattled off without hesitance, tone urgent, that of one used to giving orders and having them instantly obeyed. As she spoke, Alisha struggled again to push herself up, only managing to make herself cringe with pain again.

“I did say to relax,” Rose said pointedly. She crossed her arms. “They’re taking care of things. They left me in charge of you.”

Alisha seemed to have given up on movement for now, for which Rose was privately relieved. “They left me under the care of an assassin?”

Rose shrugged. “You're the one that said I was supposed to 'bear witness,' remember? Sorey vouched for me, too. And, well, I _did_ save your life and all.”

Alisha seemed not to be listening, having perked up at the mention of the Shepherd. “Sorey is okay too, then?”

Rose considered being offended, because she wasn’t really an expert, but she was pretty sure saving someone’s life warranted some kind of thank you at the very _least_.

Still, the sight of Alisha’s eyes, full of concern, made her cut short any snarky comment she might have considered making. “Yeah. He’s fine.” She hesitated, thinking of the last time she’d seen Sorey, when he had been healing Alisha (or, to be more accurate, when his so-called seraphim had been healing Alisha, but Rose didn’t want to think too hard about the implications of _that_ yet).

“Well, he’s....” _Wide, wild eyes, brows furrowed and fists clenched, everything in disarray, like he could fall apart at any moment._ “The battle shook him up a lot,” she decided. “I don’t think he was prepared for… all of that.”

Alisha frowned, but nodded, and Rose could practically hear her weary train of thought. _No one was. Not even us._ Not Alisha, who had been preparing for the possibility of war since pubescence, a knight herself during much of that time, and not even Rose, an actual assassin. Neither of them were strangers to violence and bloodshed, and yet neither of them were prepared for the horror of all-out war. And as that understanding passed between them, Rose saw something else in Alisha’s eyes, compassion and concern, and she remembered the Sorey she had met at the gates of Ladylake, naive and clueless. Aside from his new status as Shepherd, he was practically a civilian tossed into the middle of the battlefield.

“He’s okay, though,” Rose continued, her tone so certain that it convinced even herself. “He just needs some time to recover, to process everything.”

Alisha shook her head. “We might not be allowed even that luxury.” And with that, the princess forced herself to roll to her side, tucking in her knees and elbows, and pushed herself up so she was kneeling on her knees. Rose held out a hand, mouth open in pure shock. For a moment, she was too surprised to stop Alisha from huffing and grimacing her way to her feet, grabbing at the walls of the tent for support, looking winded but determined.

“Where is Maltran?”

Rose blinked, then stood up herself. “Hey, sit down! You’re going to start bleeding again!” Alisha made a noise of protest, but allowed Rose to wrap an arm around her hips, settling her weight onto Rose’s shoulders before she took the whole tent down with her.

“It’s fine,” she gasped, attempting a step forward. Oh, like hell was Rose going to allow that. She kept her feet planted firmly on the ground. Alisha turned her head, expression set in a resolved glare. “There’s not enough time for me to wait for a full recovery. We need to take advantage of the ceasefire while it lasts.”

Rose returned Alisha’s glare in equal muster. “Most people would say getting stabbed is a pretty good excuse to take a break from politics.” Seeing that Rose wasn’t going to help her kill herself a second time, Alisha turned her face back to the entrance of the tent, finished her step forward, and promptly fell on her face as her knee buckled beneath her weight. Alisha swore.

Rose snickered at that, kneeling down and scooping the princess into her arms with little difficulty. “You really are a stubborn one, aren’t you?” She set Alisha back onto her mat, checking over the wound underneath her bandages again. She was no medic, but stab wounds were something of a specialty with her. Alisha should probably see a healer soon, now that she was awake, but Rose wasn’t quite willing to leave her alone yet.

“You know, if you want to help your people so badly, you really shouldn’t have let yourself get stabbed.” Maybe it wasn’t quite fair to blame Alisha, but honestly, what had she been thinking? For a moment she was lost in anger all over again, watching in slow motion as that man stabbed his own princess in the back. His own princess, and after she had spared the life of one of his compatriots.

Alisha’s expression remained set, calm and unwavering. “That’s why I had to. I will not willingly allow those I have sworn to protect to perish.”

Rose raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. It had been a kill or be killed situation, and yet Alisha had left herself exposed for the sake of this ideal. “Even when they're out to get you, huh?”

At this, Alisha gave a bitter sort of smile. “They’ve always been out to get me. There were just more weapons and blood involved, this time.”

 _What a fool,_ Rose found herself thinking, but the dismissal was tempered by another feeling, one that had been growing inside her since she’d met the princess, not yet strong enough to name. Respect, perhaps. Maybe even admiration. _M_ _ore than just pretty words, as it turns out. Does that make you more or less of a fool, Princess?_

“Apparently Sorey’s planning to go to Rolance next.” Rose didn’t know why she said it so suddenly, but Alisha simply nodded like she understood just what Rose was trying to ask.

“I need to do what I can in Hyland,” she said after a long moment.

Rose pressed farther, watching Alisha’s face closely. “You don’t want to go with him?”

Alisha hesitated. When she spoke, it was with all the care of a woman used to running in political circles, where one wrong word could have all sorts of grave and unforeseen consequences. “The Shepherd might be the only person in the world with the power to end the Age of Chaos, but he’ll need allies on both sides willing to make that happen. That means I need to stay here and do everything in my power to prevent the war between Hyland and Rolance and bring peace to my people.”

Rose listened to this speech with interest. “But?”

Alisha looked surprised, then pursed her lips. “But nothing. The Shepherd will be the most instrumental in shaping our future, but I… I have my own role to play in that.”

Rose nodded, understanding. Alisha wasn’t the type of person to wait on the sidelines while other people did the work. Allowing Sorey to continue on his journey alone, leaving him to shape the world while she stayed behind: a person like Alisha wouldn’t be able to accept those decisions easily. Yet at the heart of her, she was a leader, and a leader who would never allow personal desires to keep her from doing what was best for her people.

Rose had made a close study of high-ranking politicians, religious leaders, celebrated generals, royalty, and owners of large companies all across the continent. People with that integrity, that drive, that selflessness… they were rare. She remembered seeing it in Brad, a long time ago. A very different person than Alisha, their ideals on two completely different sides of the spectrum, and yet now she found herself thinking they would have gotten along.

“Sorey has his seraphim, too,” Alisha was saying. “He won’t be facing it alone.”

“You want me to go with him?”

Alisha looked surprised, perhaps a little cautious. “Why?”

Rose tilted her head up, seeing nothing but the ceiling of the tent above them. “You’re right. Power like what I saw out there? He could save the world or end it, all on his own. I make it my business to keep an eye on people like that.”

Alisha’s eyebrows furrowed, like she wasn’t quite sure where Rose was coming from yet. “I have nothing but faith in Sorey. He has the seraphim to help guide him. I’m sure they’ll give him the good counsel and companionship he needs.”

That was the second time she’d mentioned the seraphim in as many minutes. Rose herself had no idea about them. Stories she’d heard about the Shepherd had always made it sound like they were elemental playthings, waiting in the background until the Shepherd called for their power. A pretty miserable existence, Rose mused, but from the way Alisha spoke, the seraphim should be much more than that. Yet another thing to pique her interest.

Rose grinned lazily. “Don’t get me wrong, his heart’s in the right place. But you never know what’s going to happen.” She cocked her head downward, glancing down at Alisha through the corner of her eye. “Something this important… that’s part of what’s so interesting about it, right?”

Alisha gave a guilty smile. _Yes, that’s why I wanted to go, too._

“And you’re worried about him.” Rose recalled that cheerful face, how it had gone blank when the fighting stopped. She didn’t know Sorey all that well: would he be strong enough to bear it? Would he give up, fall to the ground in exhaustion and become unable to get back up? On the other hand, might he snap, become a berserker tearing apart everything in his path? Rose had seen men and women who were supposedly the strongest of their ilk do both.

And if he didn’t, if he persevered and made it out the other side, what would he do then? “I’ll go with him,” Rose said again. “I know my way around Rolance. I’ll watch his back for you, so you can do what needs to be done here without worrying about it.”

Alisha’s face changed, then, in a way that made Rose instantly uncomfortable; still, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. “Rose,” she breathed softly, those pale green eyes sparkling, a hint of a smile in the curve of her lips.

It was too much, that look, and Rose broke the moment as soon as she could with a cool wave of her hand. “What, worried about me? You’re right that he’ll need all the help he can get,” she prattled, letting the words glide off her tongue the way they did so naturally to her.

She glanced down at Alisha, who was openly smiling now, whatever uncomfortable emotion that had been there replaced with amusement. It made Rose smile back. “Just don’t get yourself killed while I’m not around to save you, alright? I have a feeling…” She hesitated, but Alisha’s curious tilt of the head had her continuing. “I have a feeling Hyland’s going to need a stubborn princess like you.”

Alisha nodded, still with that smile, and Rose resisted the urge to brush a stray section of honey-blonde hair from her eyes.

“I know I should have said this earlier,” Alisha said, distracting Rose from her temptation. “But thank you for saving my life, Rose.”

Rose gave Alisha her most charming Sparrowfeathers smile as she stood up, hands on her hips. “I usually take my thank-yous in gald, actually.” She almost laughed at the slight look of panic on Alisha’s face. Instead, she gave the princess a cheeky wink. “I’m open to alternative payment. We’ll talk about it when Sorey I get back from wherever we’re going, okay?”

Alisha relaxed, and Rose knew she’d caught the promise there. _Until we meet again._ “Very well,” she said, and then her expression became thoughtful once more. She sighed, the exhaustion she’d forgotten during their conversation returning. “I really do need to speak with Maltran. Sorey, too.”

Rose nodded. “I need to sort things out, too, if I’m really going to split off. I’ll go find Maltran for you,” she said over her shoulder, already making her way out of the tent. “You stay here, okay?” Her words were firm, and she was sure to turn around and send a warning glare in Alisha’s direction.

Alisha was smiling, her eyebrows raised teasingly. “Now who’s worried?” There was laughter in her eyes, covering up the pain that had been there moments before. A metaphor for her entire life, Rose thought cynically. She was beautiful, though, lying there pale and dirty from the battle, her face sweaty, hair in disarray, with that pretty smile and the laughter in her eyes and the faint color that had begun to return to her pale cheeks.

Rose felt her cheeks turning pink too and turned quickly before Alisha could see. “You would be, if you had any sense of self-preservation,” she muttered, definitely annoyed at Alisha’s carelessness and not the flutter of her own heart.

Rose left the tent quickly, the tinkling sound of Alisha’s laughter ringing sweetly in her ears.


End file.
